Jemima Kirke, known for her role as Jessa in Lena Dunham’s Girls, has continually evolved as an actress, balancing her career with a passion for painting. From her early experiences in indie films like Tiny Furniture to her impactful performances in major TV series like Sex Education and Conversations with Friends, she brings depth and nuance to every character she portrays, as we can see in this story lensed by photographer Cameron Postforoosh. Her willingness to embrace different creative outlets has shaped her unique approach to acting, while her behind-the-scenes work as a music video director further enhances her perspective.

Iris Jeanson Your role as Jessa in Girls by Lena Dunham was a breakthrough in your career. How do you think your approach to acting has changed since then, especially with your more recent work in Conversations with Friends?

Jemima Kirke I’ll go with that. Yes, working on Girls was a breakthrough moment in my career as an artist. Like the kind people have with their shrink. I came to realize that I have multiple wells of resources in me for money-making. It wasn’t an epiphany. This breakthrough was more like a suggestion I was asked to take seriously. It took me a long time to believe that someone who is known as an actress could be taken seriously in more than one field. I always thought that if you’re working in more than one medium, one of them must be a hobby or a day job.

It was either something you have to be doing to be able to support yourself while you pursue the thing you’re “meant” to be doing, or it was some sort of confused deviation born out of grandiosity and delusion. Those fears are legitimate but also nonsense. They’re only as important as you make them. But before the breakthrough, that’s what I was telling myself. It was probably part of a bigger story I was telling myself about creativity that was making me second guess the whole thing altogether. Girls was my first real acting gig. My approach to acting has changed a lot since then in the same way that your approach to sex changes the more you do it. You get better at it, get to know yourself better as a lover, what works for you and what doesn’t. The goal is to get good enough in acting so that you actually start getting paid for it.

IJ You’ve said before that acting wasn’t your first choice. What made you decide to stick with it and keep taking on new roles in TV and film?

JK I got bored with my acting. Since I had no experience, I came to rely on the same old things that worked for me before. But I did not want to be someone who breezed through the work, hitting the notes that were asked of me and then going home. Good enough stopped being good enough for something. I think I drew a hard line there at some point. The job was having such an immense impact on my life (good and bad) and I wanted to both deserve that and have a good reason for doing it every day.

IJ In Sex Education, your role as Hope Haddon walks a fine line between being a symbol of authority and a source of conflict for the students. How did you approach creating depth and nuance in such a complex character?

JK Authority is a threat to anyone in some way or another. Particularly to teenagers. And especially to the students at Moordale High. The head of a school is often an archetype used to threaten the freedom and free will of the students. So I don’t think there is a contrast between being a source of conflict as well as an authority figure.

IJ How do you juggle your acting career with your painting? Do you find that one feeds into the other creatively?

JK I don’t juggle anything. I hold as much as I can and the rest falls to the floor. I pick up what I can when I can. I haven’t worked on a film set in a long time. Painting has been my main vocation for the last few years. Both practices require humility. A lot of it. A conscious effort to remove your own desire for praise or to impress an audience. People are smart and easily pick up on bullshit. Most people can tell when you’re being dishonest or not straight with them. It’s my job to be as honest as I possibly can. Or at least willing to be. On screen, I have to be willing to reveal something about myself. Not that this is about me. In fact, it’s because it’s not about me. I am able to do it.

There’s no room for trepidation or embarrassment in acting. We all share the same set of emotions. Humanity is a thing we’re all a part of and the audience expects me to bring them closer to it. The only way I can do that is to be as alive and revealing as I possibly can. It’s similar on the canvas. I have to exercise my need to impress or gain praise for what I’m making. Painting is such a primal act. We all did it at some point in our lives. We’re all capable of it. The goal is to paint like a caveman, I guess. Just because I want to mimic what I perceive. I want to convey it to myself and to others. I don’t want to be alone so much. But words get tiring and don’t always work. It’s nice when people like my perception of things.  I think it’s nice for them and for me.

IJ You’ve done both indie films like Tiny Furniture and bigger productions. What feels different about working on those kinds of projects?

JK The trailer and the hotel room and the money, and the food.

IJ In City on Fire, you play a real estate heiress in early  2000s New York. How did you prepare to bring that character to life?

DISCOVER THE WHOLE INTERVIEW IN OUR LAST ISSUE, CRASH 105

CREDITS:

@crashmagazine

Photo @cameronpostforoosh

Talent @jemima_jo_kirke

Styling @yaelquint

Fashion @celine

Assistants styling @laurendelfino and @hannahlongstreet

Hair @lbhair

Make up @mitchyoshidamakeup

Nails @nailsbymamie @seemanagement with @the_gelbottle_ink